Over 100 whales dead after washing up on New Zealand beach

When it first happened, conservationists140 trained volunteers in the Golden Bay area as well as experts from New Zealand’s Department of Conservationrushed to water down the giant mammals, cover them and ideally refloat them back into the water.

“Refloating stranded whales is a difficult and potentially dangerous job,” Andrew Lamason, the department’s services manager for Golden Bay, said Friday.

CNN’s Jethro Mullen and Mitra Mobasherat contributed to this report.

CNN